How To Create High Converting Landing Pages 2018: 15 Best Practices

Landing pages are the bread and butter of many businesses. This is especially true in Knowledge Commerce. You need a way to funnel your traffic to a specific destination that might help consumers convert.

You might already have landing pages, but do they help your bottom line? If not, you might need to make a few adjustments to turn them into high-converting landing pages.

It doesn't have to involve a complete overhaul. In fact, sometimes the smallest changes can yield the biggest results, such as altering the color of a CTA button or exchanging the image for a more relevant one.

We're going to cover several ways to create high-converting landing pages, specifically for Knowledge Commerce professionals. If you are struggling to generate income or scale your business, these tips might help you reach your entrepreneurial goals.

What Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a web page that presents a unique opportunity viewer. It typically has no external or internal links except for the CTA, and most of landing pages incorporate both images and text to guide the reader toward the desired outcome.

Think of a brick-and-mortar store. In a physical location, the landing page might be a conversation with a sales representative who helps the customer choose a product and guides them toward the checkout counter.

Since you're selling digital products online, you don't always have an opportunity to converse with customers directly. Instead, you use a tactic such as a landing page to do the selling for you.

A landing page differs from a sales page in that it is designed to work with a specific offer and to serve traffic from a specific place. For instance, you might use it separate landing pages for traffic that comes from social media, your blog posts, and your latest webinar.

The idea is to align the offer from the source of the link to the content on the landing page.

For instance, if you want to drive traffic from your Facebook page to a landing page, you might run a Facebook Ad or publish a Facebook post that offers a 20%-off coupon for your latest online course. When people click on the link, they arrive at a landing page that discusses the 20%-off coupon and mimics the imagery and text from the Facebook Ad or post.

Why Do You Need a Landing Page?

The great thing about landing pages is that they remove all distractions from your viewers' line of sight. They don't have a navigation bar or sidebar, for instance, that might encourage the viewer to click on those links instead of the one in your CTA.

It's true that you can convert potential customers using a sales page or even convince someone to buy your online course based on a blog post. However, most sales require a little more effort.

Landing pages help you pressure consumers through the buyers' journey. This is often represented as a funnel.

At the top of the funnel, for instance, consumers are weighing their options and learning about products in your space. They aren't ready to buy.

As they move down the funnel, however, they become more brand aware and more likely to purchase your online course, join your membership site, or convert on some other offer. This is when you might directing them to a landing page with a special offer for your digital products.

Keep in mind that you can also use landing pages at the top of the funnel. Instead of asking viewers to buy your products, invite them to sign up for your email list. You can use a lead magnet to increase their likelihood of converting.

You need landing pages because these particular pages can be used widely and for every stage of the funnel.

What Is a Good Conversion Rate For a Landing Page?

Recent research suggests that landing pages don't conversion rate. Many entrepreneurs experienced 2% or fewer conversions on their landing pages. Those in the top 10% convert 12% of viewers or more.

Those numbers might not sound very appealing. It's true that landing pages don't historically have the best conversion rates, but they're not terribly low when compared to other marketing strategies, such as email marketing and social media marketing.

Consequently, your focus should be on driving as much traffic to your landing pages as possible. It's a numbers game. The more people who view your landing page, the more sales you'll generate.

Additionally, keep in mind that you can always break the mold. Just because other businesses have not had great success with landing pages in terms of conversion percentages doesn't mean that you won't. If you set up your landing pages to be conversion machines, you might be surprised by the results.

15 Strategies For High-Converting Landing Pages In 2018

Now that we have covered the importance of landing pages and the potential for conversions, how do you optimize your landing pages for maximum sales? It's not as hard as it sounds.

The important thing to remember is that what works for one business doesn't always work for another. You might have noticed that some marketers encourage businesses to use specific colors, fonts, images, and page layouts for their landing pages. Other marketers might suggest the opposite.

You'll experience the best results from your landing pages when you test specific variables to see what impact they have on your conversion rates. That way, you can find the optimum combination for your specific digital products and audience.

We have assembled 15 tips and strategies to help you optimize your landing pages. Work through them all and test several variations of each. That's the only way to know what will work best for your business.

You might also discover that other factors influence your conversion rates. When you discover those variables, make sure to take the consideration for each new page you create.

1. Write a Headline That Persuades

Many entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that it's body copy that persuades a consumer to buy a product. While many consumers will read all of the copy on your landing page, some will never get past the headline.

If it's a compelling, persuasive headline, those consumers might click on the "BUY" button immediately. They are already convinced that you offer what they want.

A weak headline, on the other hand, will chase consumers straight to the exit button. They won't waste time viewing the rest of your copy because they don't believe you have anything of value to offer.

That's the power of a great headline — and a poor one.

To write a killer headline for your landing page, think about what your audience wants relative to the product you are selling. What would compel them to read on beyond any obstacle or objection?

Many of the best headlines target a pain point. In other words, they directly address an issue with which the consumer is struggling.

Let's say, for example, that you sell online courses to help people lose weight. Your headline might target a specific pain point, such as frustrations with fad diets and other strategies that don't work:

Sick of Paying for Supplements and Programs That Leave You Hungry and Frustrated?

Ready to Kick the Fad Diets and Make Healthy Choices for Your Body?

Ditch the Weight-Loss Scams and Learn How to Achieve a Healthy Weight Naturally

The headline examples don't condescend to the consumer or poke fun at the topic. Instead, they empathize with readers and suggest that the product offers a more plausible, realistic solution.

Other headline formulas that work well for landing pages include questions and statements that involve specific goals, misunderstood principles, and special offers:

Drop 10 Pounds Without Crash Diets or Supplements

Forget What You Thought You Knew About Strategic Weight Loss

Get 10% Off Our Best-Selling Course and Lose Weight Naturally

The goal is always to capture attention. If you can't do that, you can't expect consumers to convert.

2. Add a Persuasive Subheading

A subheading should be responsive to the headline above. It might elaborate on the promise or offer or provide details that can help consumers overcome objections.

Let's continue with the weight-loss example. You don't want consumers to assume that your selling snake oil. Unfortunately, the weight loss industry has suffered serious setbacks because of scam artists.

You can set consumers' minds at ease in your subheading by establishing credibility, tackling a specific objection, or using social proof:

Learn healthy habits from a leading expert whose work has appeared in Fit and Shape magazines.

Discover healthy, proven formulas for losing weight naturally so you can feel like the best version of yourself.

Join 10,000 satisfied customers who have taken advantage of my weight-loss strategies.

You don't want to sell too overtly in your subheading. Tone down any high-pressure sales speak in favor of natural language that will appeal to your target market.

3. Establish a Visual Focus for Your Prospect

Landing pages aren’t just about text. In fact, many work well with minimal text because they utilize powerful imagery.

The images you choose for your landing page should reflect your brand’s values, beliefs, and culture. For instance, if you use lots of humor in your online courses, you don’t want your landing page to look like it belongs to a corporate legal firm.

A hero image often works well for landing pages. Large, dynamic imagery can create a visual focus for the prospect and instill an immediate emotion in him or her.

However, a hero image is not essential. In Knowledge Commerce, minimal images with lots of white space can prove equally powerful.

4. Provide an Explanation

Some landing pages need more text than others. This is particularly true in Knowledge Commerce because you have to educate the consumer.

You offer a membership site, online course, or some other digital product. But how does it help the prospect? What can a consumer gain from it?

An explanation of the features and benefits that you provide through your digital product can work wonders. You’ll notice that HubSpot and Unbounce did exactly that in the screenshot above.

The landing page further uses bullet points for easy scannability and a few internal links to help consumers understand industry terminology. While you typically don’t want excess links on a landing page, it can work in some instances.

Just make sure you leave plenty of whitespace around your explanation and that you draw the eye toward your CTA or offer. You don’t want to bog down your reader with too much information.

5. State Your Value Proposition

Now we get to the real meat of your landing page. You want to separate your digital products from those that others have developed. What makes yours special?

Your value proposition should be clear, unique, and brief. Don’t give in to the temptation to go on for paragraphs about why prospects should buy your digital product. Get to the point in a sentence or two.

Teambit does this well with its homepage, which also happens to serve as a landing page. If you scroll down, you’ll see the value proposition stated clearly:

The company starts by addressing objections, then hits the consumer with two simple sentences that can easily inspire conversions.

What is a great value proposition? It’s one that no other company could copy. It’s what makes you special, unique, and desirable.

Let’s go back to our weight-loss example. Maybe you sell an online course that provides encouragement, accountability, and motivation as well as instruction. Your value proposition might look like this: “A course and an accountability partner in one. We don’t just show you the way — we help you get there.”

6. Establish a Logical Flow

If you look at the Teambit landing page referenced above, you’ll notice that it’s pretty long. There’s lots of whitespace, but you’ll also see several areas of text and images that help convey value.

The logical flow of that page is something to which you should aspire. It’s like walking your viewer through a story.

For instance, if you’re selling a weight-loss course, your flow could look something like this:

Address the pain point (frustration with failed attempts)

Offer a solution (a course that guides and motivates)

Describe the benefits (outcomes from the course)

Detail the process (bullet points that explain each course module)

Offer social proof (testimonials from satisfied customers)

Describe the outcome (a healthier, more energetic self)

Ask for the sale (a CTA for your sales page)

Think like your target consumer. How does he or she make decisions? What questions might that person ask?

Try to address things like objections, pain points, questions, and social proof in a logical order so you don’t lose your readers.

7. Mention What a Prospect Might Lose

Negativity works incredibly well on landing pages. That might sound counterintuitive, but stick with us.

Have you ever bought something because you were worried about missing out on something great? Maybe you had a coupon that would expire in 24 hours, or perhaps you had a burning desire to learn something that you might put off if you didn’t go for it.

Mentioning what your prospect might lose by not converting can close the sale.

We’ll go back to our weight-loss example again. What might a consumer lose by failing to buy your online course?

The opportunity to look and feel healthier

A chance to save X% on the course

The potential for a healthier body

You can do this with any online course. Let’s say that you sell courses on photography. Potential losses could include:

Improved photography skills

The chance to impress friends and family

Job opportunities

When you invoke FOMO (fear of missing out), you tap into people’s desire to have what they want and to avoid negative outcomes.

8. Emphasize What You Can Offer

We’ve mentioned bullet points a few times in this article. There’s a reason for that.

You probably already know that bulleted and numbered lists make copy more scannable. They’re easier to read than blocks of text and, therefore, make copy easier to read.

However, they also draw attention to themselves. Visit any website and scan the page. If there’s a bulleted list, you’ll likely notice that your eye picks it out immediately.

You can use this knowledge on your landing pages to draw attention to the most important things, such as the benefits you offer. Break them down into bullet points to make them more emphatic.

9. Provide Multiple Methods of Contact

While you don’t want to overload your visitor with links, you don’t want to lose potential business, either. Some consumers might want to return to buy your products. They’re just not ready yet.

To seal the deal for future sales, provide the viewer with multiple methods of contact. They’re already on your website, but allow them to connect with your via social media. You can also give your phone number and email address.

10. Offer a Guarantee

Nothing converts consumers more reliably than a guarantee. It takes the pressure off because your customer doesn’t have to worry about losing anything. If they find no value in the product, they can get their money back.

However, you have to be careful with guarantees. You don’t want people to take advantage of your online course, benefit from it, and pay no money. Consequently, time-bound guarantees typically work best.

They emphasize their commitment to customer service by calling the customer their “#1 priority.” This can be psychologically powerful.

However, the hotel chain also sets boundaries on that guarantee. They show that they’re more than willing to satisfy their customers, but that there are limits for getting one’s money back.

You could, for instance, advertise a 100% guarantee within three days. That way, customers have a chance to get the feel of your online course and determine whether it’s for them.

11. Establish Social Proof

Social proof helps make landing pages convert more reliably because it establishes that other people have found your digital products beneficial. You’re not just some random company — you’re a legitimate entrepreneur with outstanding products under your umbrella.

You can offer social proof in several ways.

First, if you’ve ever been published by a high-profile publication, don’t hesitate to mention it. You’ll demonstrate credibility because prospects will see that other publications have validated your claims.

You can also post reviews of your product. If someone has left a glowing review on your website, sent it to your email address, or added it to a review aggregator website, make sure to publish it.

Endorsements work well, too. Consider offering an influencer a free copy of your e-book or free access to your online course. Ask for an unbiased review.

If the influencer loves your product, his or her endorsement can become part of your landing page. People who follow that influencer will be more willing to convert.

Don’t forget about associations and organizations, either. If you’re a member of the Better Business Bureau, for example, or an industry organization, display your badge prominently. This is even more powerful if it’s a regulated association.

12. Print Trustworthy Testimonials

Testimonials are another form of social proof. Ask your customers what they think of your digital products. When they reply, publish the best ones on your landing page.

If possible, include the person’s full name. A photograph and a link to that person’s website or social media account is better. It shows that you didn’t just make up a testimonial, but earned it legitimately.

Keep in mind that people can often smell deception. Don’t get your friends and family members to write bogus testimonials. If you don’t have any yet, wait until you get some.

Additionally, make sure that the testimonial comes from the specific digital product you’re trying to sell. You don’t want there to be any discord between the testimonial’s wording and your description of the product.

13. Leverage Your Call To Action

The CTA is arguably the most important part of your landing page. You’re asking the visitor to take some action, whether it’s buying your online course, signing up for your email newsletter, or filling out a survey.

Make your CTA stand out. It could be rendered in a contrasting color, for instance, or made larger with a bigger font size.

Consider using a big button for your CTA. It often works to attract attention and entice people to click.

Additionally, you can use arrows or other visual indicators to draw the eye toward your CTA. You’re trying to make it the most prominent element on the page.

14. Optimize Your Lead-Generation Form

A lead-generation form can help move visitors through the buyer's’ journey. However, it won’t help at all if nobody fills it out.

Shorter is always better when it comes to forms. If a visitor sees that they need to provide 10 different pieces of information, they might click away because they lack the time or interest.

Ask for the bare minimum of information. An email address is often sufficient. If it’s necessary, add fields for the user’s first name and physical location.

15. Make Sure the Page Loads Fast

Fast loading times are essential for landing pages, especially since many people will land on them from mobile devices. If the page takes five seconds to load, you’ll probably lose the prospect.

Use the smallest possible images, for instance, to reduce their weight. Don’t add more text or graphics than necessary. If you use Kajabi’s built-in landing pages, you can trust that they’re already optimized for speed and usability.

Use Kajabi Create to Your Landing Pages

As mentioned above, you don’t have to leave Kajabi to create landing pages that convert. We offer many pre-made designs that can help you sell your digital products faster and more efficiently.

Just log into your account and use our handy assistant to navigate to the landing page feature. If you already have your text and images, you can get your landing page published in seconds.

Conclusion

Great landing pages can make or break your conversion rates. Creating landing pages that convert might take more time, but you’ll be rewarded with more sales and better customer service.

Start with a powerful headline and a persuasive subheading. Focus on hitting those pain points and highlighting the main benefits of your digital product.

Next, establish a visual focus. Use one or more images to guide the user through the page. You also need to explain why your digital product matters. What’s in it for the customer?

State your value proposition, establish a logical flow, and capitalize on FOMO. You can also offer a guarantee to help the user feel more confident in your product.

Social proof and testimonials can further improve conversion rates. Don’t forget your call to action, which is what convinces users to click, and make sure to optimize your lead-generation forms for speed and efficiency.

Finally, make your page-load speeds as fast as possible. A slow-loading page might chase away customers before they even see your landing pages.